MILLE MIGLIA / ITALIAN LAKES TOUR 
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Dates: |
May 8th-16th 2009
9 days/9 nights |
Cost: |
£ to be confirmed |
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The costs, per person, are based on two people per car sharing a hotel bedroom and include the following:
- Accommodation in 3 star or 4 star hotels (9 nights)
- Gourmet, 3 course dinners
- Breakfasts daily
- Rally plates
- Road books and maps
- Services of a Tour Director
Description
9 day tour, (with 9 nights accommodation), to watch the Mille Miglia classic re-run in Italy's Brescia. Our tour starts with a Dover-Dunkerque ferry crossing.From here we drive
across the Belgium border into Luxembourg where we spend our first night.We then
drive south to France's Alsace region.where we spend our second night in Riquewihr one of France's most beautiful villages surrounded by picturesque vineyards.Our coffee stop the next morning is Colmar,another of France's most beautful villages noted for its pretty streets and its meandering canal after which we visit the world famous Sclumphf museum in Mulhouse before crossing the river Rhine into Germany where we drive through the Black Forest and over mountain passes eventually crossing the border into Switzerland where our overnight 5* hotel is in the old town of Burgdorf.From Bugdorf we drive to Lake Orta in Italy just west of Lake Maggiore.Our route takes us south to Thun then to Interlaken and Meiringen to Furkapass.From here we drive over the Simplon pass to Lake Orta where our hotel overlooks Orta St Giulio the charming medieval town and lake.The following day we drive around Lake Maggiore to Lake Lugano where once again we enter Switzerland before crossing back into Italy and onto Lake Como our next overnight stop where our hotel awaits us on the western shore of this pretty lake.On Wednesday we drive around Lake Como then cross the mountains via Lake Iseo to Lake Garda where our hotel for the next three nights is based in Desenzano at the bottom of the lake.On Thursday we take the train into nearby Brescia to spend the entire day watching the build up to the start of the Mille Miglia and then return early evening to our hotel to watch the cars come through Desenzano which is the first check point on the Mille Miglia route.The following day we enjoy a leisurely drive around Lake Garda the
largest of the Italian lakes.We then return to Brescia on Saturday to watch
the return of the Millia Miglia cars at the end of the nostalgic and atmospheric rally. Sunday morning sees the end of the tour.
For more information about the Mille Miglia Rally:
Itinerary
- Day 1 - Friday
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Our tour starts with an early morning ferry crossing from Dover to Dunkerque.Our route takes us
south across the nearby border into Belgium and eventually into the Ardennes region continuing south into the charming countryside north of Luxembourg where our lunchstop is a pretty village nestling in a river valley.In the afternoon we continue south to Echternach where we spend the evening in an impressive four star hotel in the country side just north of the town.
- Day 2 - Saturday
- Our route takes us further south skirting around Luxembourg city and into France's Alsace region where our next hotel is based in one of France's most beautiful villages, Riquiwhr, famous for its wine and its charming olde- worlde houses.Our dinner tonight is in a one star Michelin restaurant in this picturesque village surrounded by vineyards.
- Day 3 - Sunday
- Leaving Riquiwhr we drive a few miles south to Colmar our coffee stop and another of France's most beautiful villages where we stroll around the pretty streets bordering the picturesque flower decked canal which meanders through the town.Our lunch stop is the world famous Sclumpf motor museum at Mullhouse a few miles further south after which we cross the river Rhine into Germany and drive through the Black Forest eventually crossing the border into Switzerland where our hotel is based in the charming old town of Burgdorf
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- Day 4 - Monday
- Leaving Burgdorf we head for Lake Orta in Italy just west of Lake Maggiore.Our route takes us south to Thun then to Interlaken and meringen to Furkapass.From here we drive over the Simplon Pass to Lake Orta and our hotel overlooking the lake and Orta St.Giulio.
- The medieval town of Orta St Giulio is absolutely captivating with its cobbled streets and historic
buildings with frescoes. Orta's charming square on the lakeside overlooks a mysterious island where
an order of nuns still live in a medieval convent.Here we can walk into the capital Orta St Giulio from our hotel overlooking the lake.
- Day 5 - Tuesday
- We leave the captivating Lake Orta then drive east to Lake Maggiore where we have the option of driving around the lake or taking the car ferry to the eastern shore and from here we drive around Lake Lugano entering and leaving Switzerland again before climbing over the mountains to Lake Como.Arriving at Mennagio on Lake Como's western shore from here it is only ten minutes to our charming hotel overlooking
the lake at Tremezzina. A warm welcome awaits us there from Alberto the owner who also owns six
other hotels! This evening there will be a drinks reception on the terrace prior to dinner in the hotel's
restaurant which is noted for its local cuisine.
- Day 6- Wednesday
- Today we drive around Lake Como and east across the mountains to Lake d'Iseo, a glaciated lake in wine-producing country
surrounded by tall mountains and waterfalls. Along the shores of the lake we pass through a clutch
of fishing villages. From here we continue east to our next lake, Lake Garda, set in an idyllic
landscape of mountains and rugged hillsides. Lake Garda, the largest and easternmost of the Italian Lakes borders the
regions of Trenito in the north, Lombardy to the west and south and the Venito to the south and
east. . Our base for the next three nights is a stylish four-star hotel with
lake frontage at the southern end of Lake Garda on the outskirts of Desenzano and overlooking the
peninsula of Sirmione.
- Day 7- Thursday
- Today is the start of the Mille Miglia so we travel to nearby Brescia taking the train
from Desenzano, a journey of 15 minutes. The atmosphere is amazing and we spend the day absorbing the
ambience in this historic city with its rich artistic heritage, including Roman temples and
triumphalist architecture. In the afternoon we can visit
the Mille Miglia Museum which is based in the Sant' Eufemia monastery in Brescia. In the evening we return to our hotel and watch the historic rally as the cars depart on
their 1000 mile route to Rome and back. The Mille Miglia route comes through Desenzano and
passes our hotel so for the real afficianados you can watch the Mille
Miglia cars go by into the early hours of the morning!
- Day 8- Friday
- In contrast to the excitement of yesterday's Millia Miglia start, we enjoy a tranquil drive around Lake
Garda enjoying the contrasts between the low-lying countryside around the southern stretches to
the increasingly dramatic scenery further north ending in impressive rocky cliffs, sometimes
swathed in pines which hug the shoreline of the northern tip. Our morning route up the western shore of the lake has an option to visit nearby Lake Idro. There is also an option to visit a nearby wine producer, whose family owns the hotel Aquila d' Oro or a visit to the beautiful Parco Giardino Sigurta, considered by many as one of the five most extraordinary gardens in the world
where visitors can enjoy enchanting views, stunning colours and picturesque corners. A spectacular
oasis of green at the edge of the glacial hills just eight kilometres south of Peschiera del Garda, Sigurta is a
fitting complement to the beauty of Lake Garda.To help you unwind and enjoy the beauty of Lake Garda why not visit nearby
Sirmione, a charming and atmospheric medieval town on a peninsula. The town can only be
accessed on foot by crossing the moat of a 16th-century castle at the town's entrance.
- Day 9- Saturday
- In the afternoon we watch some of the Mille Miglia cars
on the open road and then we return to Brescia to watch the return of the Mille Miglia cars from their historic re-run and to
enjoy the carnival atmosphere created by this impressive event.
Sunday,Participants are free to make their own way home at their own pace, although we will be happy
to suggest routes depending on how much time they have for the return trip. If there is sufficient
interest we can lead an escorted tour part way back to France
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